Neshama Carlebach’s New Version of Hatikva Opens Israeli National Anthem to Arabs

I woke up this morning to some stunning news: The talented and soulful singer Neshama Carlebach has come up with a new version of Israel’s national anthem, HaTikva (the Hope), at an invitation by The Forward, a leading national Jewish newspaper.

This “new” version is new in the most startling and thoughtful of ways. With just the slight tweak of a word here, and a phrase there, Carlebach attempts to open up the doors of a song and an anthem that has been excluding more than 20 percent of its own population.

The traditional HaTikva dates to the late 1800s. It was adapted from a poem written by a Jew named Naphtali Imber, who lived in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now Zolochiv,Ukraine. (As an interesting aside, Imber later converted to Christianity.) The songs words expressed the then-2000-year-old hope of the Jewish people to return to the land of Israel and reclaim it as a sovereign nation.

The Jewish people were kicked out of Israel and into their long trek into the “diaspora” in the year 70 CE, when the Roman Empire destroyed the Second Temple and expelled all the Jews from Jerusalem. (As a point of reference, it is believed Jesus died around the year 35 CE).

Of course there is nothing wrong with expressing the Jewish hope for teshuva, for return. The song was, and remains, one of the most beautiful and moving pieces of music in the entire corpus of our people. Even hearing the song on a chintzy jewelry box brings tears to my eyes.

The song has one fatal flaw, however, and that is this: Not everyone in the state of Israel is Jewish! What might we expect the non-Jews to be thinking and feeling when they are asked to rise, cover their hearts, face the Israeli flag, and then hear lyrics that begin like this?

“As long as in the heart within/

a Jewish soul still yearns/

and onward towards the ends of the east/

An eye still gazes toward Zion…” ?

Israel may call itself the “Jewish state” but Jews aren’t the only people who live there. In fact, a solid 20 percent of Israel’s citizenry are Arabs (either Muslim or Christian.) Plus another potpourri of Asians, Africans, and others constitute the legal population.

When I say “Arabs,” it’s important to keep in mind that we are not talking about the “Palestinians” here – those folks who have no citizenship and are living in the territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. What their fate is or should be is beyond the pale of this conversation. I’m talking about actual citizens ofIsrael, who hold Israeli passports and vote in Israeli elections, and elect their own Arab-Israeli members to the Knesset (Congress).

HaTikvah has unofficially been the national anthem of Israel since the state was founded in 1948. It officially became the anthem in 2004, by vote of the Knesset. But this song, by focusing exclusively on Israel’s Jewish character, essentially says that there is no one else there. The fact the song identifies Jews, and not Israelis, as the people of Israel casts all non-Jews (whether Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or atheist) into the disempowering position of invisibility. And everyone knows that invisible people are not equal.

This ideological problem has been a hard one for lovers of Israel to respond to. On the one hand, we can’t fathom not having this song as our anthem. It feels as crucial to Israel’s spirit and soul as a fresh-made falafel, the searing view from Masada, and the white stoned walls of Jerusalem. It would be less painful to cut off a limb than it would be to take down HaTikva from the mantel of national anthem.

On the other hand, people of conscience can’t in good conscience fail to be troubled by what Hatikva doesn’t say – by how silence makes a statement in and of itself.

It took someone with the sensitivity and raw courage of Neshama Carlebach to fix this vexing dilemma. And like all acts of courage meant to open doors, welcome in, and improve the brotherly love between people, she will no doubt be skewered for her actions by all the groups, left, and right, whose entire purpose for being is to keep divisions and antagonisms spinning on to the end of the next millennium.

Yasher Koah, Neshama Carlebach, for this beautiful, delicately done remake of Israel’s beloved anthem. Like the finest surgeon, you excised only what needed to go, and replaced it with a perfect, more inclusive alternative.

Now that the hard work is done, the really hard work begins. We need you, readers and lovers of Israel, to start contacting The Forward, the Knesset, and anyone else you can think of, to make these new lyrics a permanent change to the song!!

Here are the revised words below. Changes are in bold, with the original words following in brackets.

As long as the heart within
An Israeli [Jewish] soul still yearns
And onward, towards the East
An eye still gazes towards our country [Zion]
We have still not lost our hope
our ancient [2000 year] hope
To be a free people in the land of our fathers [our land]
in the city in which David, in which David encamped [land of Zion and Jerusalem]
To be a free people in our land
In the land of Zion and Jerusalem

Neshama Carlebach is very aware of the sensitive nature of the song. As she explained to the Jerusalem Post,

“I think it was a very controversial move, because to change the lyrics to a precious song like ‘Hatikva’ is a very big statement… It’s not about leaving the world we were in behind; it’s about opening our doors wider. I feel that if the world sees, in my own humble opinion, that Israel is not just a small exclusive group that they can’t touch, but a larger entity that’s willing to wrap our arms around the whole of humanity or even change our anthem, we’re opening our doors, and maybe the press would be better.”

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25 Responses

Chazak u’baruch! This song is an unbelievable idea who’s time may just have come at the right moment. Who better than Neshama Carlebach? You have your work cut out for you. Achieving buy-in from Israelis and Arabs, I’m not sure what will be a bigger challenge. But it’s surely a noble goal.

as an Israeli I feel that the fact the Ms. Carlebach allow herself to twist my national anthem to be offending and insulting. How would you feel if some one would twist the american anthum? Israel is the Jewish home land, the land of the Jewish people,. Minority groups exist nearly in any national country, yet the national anthem represent the nationality of the country. This is extremely insulting and unworthy !

By the way, the Italian anthem praises the victory of Italy over Austria, how does that make the huge Austrian minority group that lives under Italian control in the dolomites mountains, or should i say, the occupied dolomites mountains? Did any one ever suggested Italy to change anthem, let alone to withdraw for the areas it had occupied?
why is the double standard?

Why is it necessary to change “Jerusalem” and “Zion”? The fact that it wasn’t changed in the final line indicates that it isn’t necessary at all. And why can’t it be “our land”? Isn’t the goal here to identify Israel as the land of its Arab citizens as much as the Jewish ones?

I think making HaTikvah more inclusive is a good idea, but I also feel that in doing that we want to make as few changes as humanly possible. It appears that the “Jewish soul” in the first line and the specific time reference of “2000 year” are the only things that should be changed. Don’t try to fix what isn’t broken…

There are 22 Arab nations in this world, none of which allow Jews.
The Jewish nation has only one land…the land of Israel which was given to our nation and our nation only by GD.
Yes others might live here , but this is a Holy land intended for a Holy nation …the Jewish nation.

I’m offended. As a Buddhist Israeli, identifying the land as the “Land of our Fathers” excludes me specifically. This is ridiculous, blatant anti-Buddhism. Before I read this article, I wasn’t an anti-Semite. Now I’m not so sure.

I’m not sure what’s so insulting about a “land of one’s fathers”. Is it because it is sexist, and Buddhism isn’t sexist? Or are you offended that your religion has no ancestral ties to the country where you live? The phrase can also be interpreted literally, as “the land where my parents and/or grandparents grew up”. If it insults your religion, then I wonder what sort of religious practices you have that causes that….

I am also aware that it’s possible that you were joking, but this isn’t something to joke about.

Avraham would have run after you to try to feed you awesome food. Yitzchak would have taken care of you if you were ill, and Ya’akov would have included you in his crew. We’re not talking shlumps…and we’re not talking exclusivity. Were you listening?

I guess I understand how you might feel offended. I don’t understand why it would make you hate Jews. When I am doing yoga
and the teacher is the religious Buddhist type I just don’t do those posses or say those words. It does not make me hate Buddhists
I know that is a little facile and iif changing the words of a song would make all Isrealies feel more more included than I guess i am for it. i might want to consider how i might feel if my entire family was obliterated iby Nazi’s . or if i had just yesterday moved from a south american country where religious jews have to walk on a highway to get to shul because antisemiits wont let them use the street. (Only one place I know this is happening).They have to risk getting killed to pray. In London if you go in certain Arab neighborhoods have Shira law. And in France you can’t walk with a Kippa without being attacked.
There are lots of Jews, Chrisians n Arabs n others who work really hard to try to make Isreal feel more inclusive. I think they need to work harder. A conversation like this is a good place to start.
If u decide to hate because the words of a song are one way or another…..???? Please
find a group of like minded folks and do something like start a conversation or a group that talks to people about how you want to feel included. Please don’t choose hate.

Historically, the fathers of Buddhism are in India, Tibet and elsewhere. Is that not a historial fact? As a Jew in India, I would not be offended if their national song made reference to founders who were Buddist. Buddism is a rich and welcome additional to Israel’s pluralism, but its current presence doesn’t change the historical evolution of migration patterns.

The changes are good and necessary. Critics have the wrong priorities. That is, their feelings are not wrong, they just are making those feelings more important than the larger issue of addressing the alienation of Israel’s Arab citizens with regard to the anthem. When you have visitors, don’t you do everything you can to make them feel at home? How much the more so for a family member–a citizen, born in Israel, paying taxes in Israel, contributing to Israel’s economic strength. Hatikvah’s words were perfect for a pre-state Zionist movement. Today’s reality calls for different words.

This is a very important project — building a narrative of what it is to be Israeli that can equally include Israeli Arabs. The problem with “nefesh yisraeli” is that it undermines the whole message of the song — the longing of people outside of the Land to live within it. What if it were נפש גלתה — an “exiled soul” yearns?

I think it’s percosious for an individual to take the liberty to change a national anthem. It belongs to the nation not to her. If she wanted to make a statement she could have written her own personal song!

Aren’t all anthems and songs ultimately made through collaboration and time? Women, for example, were not included in the first right to vote to the U.S. We didn’t throw out the whole constitution a few years later, we tweaked it to reflect our greater evolved sensibilities and awareness.

Thank you for leading the way to inclusiveness. I am sure America will need to make these adjustments in the future..once we recognize that “one nation, under God” may not fit for everyone and that to prove your love of God is not done by shoving it down another’s throat!

About the Author

I am a writer, editor, wedding officiant, mother and scuba diver (not necessarily in that order). My latest project is a narrative nonfiction book called Chasing Cupid: Tales of Dating Disaster in Jewish Suburbia, about my 15+ years of dating.